Metabolic Syndrome

The cluster of symptoms collectively known as a metabolic syndrome heighten the prospect that with age will come steep cognitive decline, a new study has found. Researchers followed 7,087 French people over 65 for four years to see what factors were most clearly linked to losses in mental performance that fell short of dementia. Many seniors--including 15.8% of the sample--are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome , defined by these researchers as having two of the following five biomarkers: high blood pressure, a large waist circumference, a high overall cholesterol reading , a particularly low score on HDL (or "good")

Long after the buzz has gone, and even after the resulting hangover has cleared, a bout of binge drinking will leave your metabolism in a deeply disturbed state, which may be why binge drinkers -- even occasional ones -- are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (or its precursor, metabolic syndrome) than nondrinkers or those who drink more moderately. A new study, conducted on rats, suggests that binge drinking disrupts metabolism not by poisoning the liver but by inflaming the brain's hypothalamus, which conducts the symphony of signals necessary for proper metabolic function.

Snoring and insomnia are conditions that appear to predict an individual's risk of developing metabolic syndrome and may even help cause it, according to a study released Wednesday. Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of risk factors -- excess abdominal fat, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol and high blood pressure -- that increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. University of Pittsburgh researchers examined 812 people age 45 to 74 for metabolic syndrome or diabetes and gave them questionnaires on sleep quality.

If you're pear-shaped and smug, a new study's findings may take you down a peg: For those at slightly increased risk of developing diabetes, fat stored in the buttocks pumps out abnormal levels of two proteins associated with inflammation and insulin resistance. (And that's not good.) The new research casts some doubt on an emerging conventional wisdom: that when it comes to cardiovascular and diabetes risk, those of us who carry some excess fat in our hips, thighs and bottoms ("pear-shaped" people)

For people with metabolic syndrome, there is no shortage of the warning signs for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Now scientists at Yale University Medical School say they have found a molecular common denominator that may help explain why conditions such as obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides tend to cluster in some people.

At least 4% of American youths age 12 to 19 -- and 30% of those who are overweight -- meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome, a condition that puts them at increased risk for diabetes and heart disease as adults.

Drinking as little as one can of soda a day -- regular or diet -- is associated with a 48% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a key predecessor of heart disease and diabetes, according to results released Monday. Researchers knew that drinking regular sodas contributed to the risk of metabolic syndrome, but this is the first finding implicating diet sodas, according to results published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn.

February is “American Heart Month,” and our e-mail inboxes are filling up with information about all sorts of cardiovascular-related events, including a celebrity-studded game of Capture the Flag at UCLA. Apparently, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, singer Natasha Bedingfield, actor Ryan Kwanten and others will serve as captains of CTF teams that will compete for money to fund heart research at UCLA and UC Davis. CTF games will also be played in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Boston, according to a news release.

Long after the buzz has gone, and even after the resulting hangover has cleared, a bout of binge drinking will leave your metabolism in a deeply disturbed state, which may be why binge drinkers -- even occasional ones -- are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (or its precursor, metabolic syndrome) than nondrinkers or those who drink more moderately. A new study, conducted on rats, suggests that binge drinking disrupts metabolism not by poisoning the liver but by inflaming the brain's hypothalamus, which conducts the symphony of signals necessary for proper metabolic function.

Measuring children's waist circumference may be the best way to predict their risk later on for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a study finds. Researchers compared different testing methods for body composition among a group of 2,188 Australians who were followed for an average 20 years from childhood. Initial tests were done when the study participants were between the ages of 7 and 15 and included calculating body mass index (a measurement of height and weight), measuring waist and hip circumferences and doing skin-fold measures.

A study just presented at the American Stroke Assn.’s International Stroke Conference reported a link between the amount of diet soda someone drinks and the risk of having a stroke or heart attack. Really? Here’s the outline of the study, which was started in 2003, and what it found: A total of 2,564 people in the study were asked about their intake of sodas (among other questions) at the start of the study. After nine years, 559 cardiovascular events had occurred, and those who had reported drinking diet soda every day had a 60% higher rate of these events, which included various forms of stroke as well as heart attacks.

The cluster of symptoms collectively known as a metabolic syndrome heighten the prospect that with age will come steep cognitive decline, a new study has found. Researchers followed 7,087 French people over 65 for four years to see what factors were most clearly linked to losses in mental performance that fell short of dementia. Many seniors--including 15.8% of the sample--are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome , defined by these researchers as having two of the following five biomarkers: high blood pressure, a large waist circumference, a high overall cholesterol reading , a particularly low score on HDL (or "good")

February is “American Heart Month,” and our e-mail inboxes are filling up with information about all sorts of cardiovascular-related events, including a celebrity-studded game of Capture the Flag at UCLA. Apparently, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, singer Natasha Bedingfield, actor Ryan Kwanten and others will serve as captains of CTF teams that will compete for money to fund heart research at UCLA and UC Davis. CTF games will also be played in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Boston, according to a news release.

Snoring and insomnia are conditions that appear to predict an individual's risk of developing metabolic syndrome and may even help cause it, according to a study released Wednesday. Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of risk factors -- excess abdominal fat, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol and high blood pressure -- that increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. University of Pittsburgh researchers examined 812 people age 45 to 74 for metabolic syndrome or diabetes and gave them questionnaires on sleep quality.

Measuring children's waist circumference may be the best way to predict their risk later on for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a study finds. Researchers compared different testing methods for body composition among a group of 2,188 Australians who were followed for an average 20 years from childhood. Initial tests were done when the study participants were between the ages of 7 and 15 and included calculating body mass index (a measurement of height and weight), measuring waist and hip circumferences and doing skin-fold measures.

Drinking as little as one can of soda a day -- regular or diet -- is associated with a 48% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a key predecessor of heart disease and diabetes, according to results released Monday. Researchers knew that drinking regular sodas contributed to the risk of metabolic syndrome, but this is the first finding implicating diet sodas, according to results published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn.

More than 30 years ago, when Dr. David Heber was an intern, he asked the senior doctors the same questions over and over: "How come all my patients have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes? Are these things linked?" He said his mentors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston would shrug and say, "Dave, common things occur commonly. Go back to work." Today, doctors know Heber's intuition was right. Type 2 diabetes and heart disease are physiologically linked.

A study just presented at the American Stroke Assn.’s International Stroke Conference reported a link between the amount of diet soda someone drinks and the risk of having a stroke or heart attack. Really? Here’s the outline of the study, which was started in 2003, and what it found: A total of 2,564 people in the study were asked about their intake of sodas (among other questions) at the start of the study. After nine years, 559 cardiovascular events had occurred, and those who had reported drinking diet soda every day had a 60% higher rate of these events, which included various forms of stroke as well as heart attacks.

For people with metabolic syndrome, there is no shortage of the warning signs for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Now scientists at Yale University Medical School say they have found a molecular common denominator that may help explain why conditions such as obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides tend to cluster in some people.

More than 30 years ago, when Dr. David Heber was an intern, he asked the senior doctors the same questions over and over: "How come all my patients have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes? Are these things linked?" He said his mentors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston would shrug and say, "Dave, common things occur commonly. Go back to work." Today, doctors know Heber's intuition was right. Type 2 diabetes and heart disease are physiologically linked.